Statistical Analysis When the Data Is an Image: Eliciting Student Thinking About Sampling and Variability

Abstract

Results of analysis of responses to a first-year undergraduate engineering activity are presented. Teams of students were asked to develop a procedure for quantifying the roughness of a surface at the nanoscale, which is typical of problems in Materials Engineering where qualities of a material need to be quantified. Thirty-five teams were selected from a large engineering course for analysis of their responses. The results indicate that engagement in the task naturally led teams to design a sampling plan, use or design measures of center and variability, and integrate those measures into a model to solve the stated problem. Team responses revealed misunderstandings that students have about measures of center and variability. Implications for instruction and future research are discussed.
 First published May 2011 at Statistics Education Research Journal: Archives